Proportional comparison with što ... to
In short
| half | opener | then |
|---|---|---|
| cause | Što | comparative + clause |
| result | to | comparative + clause |
| (synonym) | Koliko ... | toliko ... |
Što više vežbaš, to lakše govoriš. · Što je zadatak teži, to je zanimljiviji. · Down: manje, gore, sporije. Past: Što smo više čitali, to smo bolje razumeli. Future: Što ranije počneš, to ćeš pre završiti (no ćeš in the što half). Not sve bolje = 'better and better' (one clause).
B2 · Lesson 32 · Srazmerno poređenje: što ... to ...
The full explanation, from the lesson that teaches this rule
English has a neat way to say that two things change together: the more you practise, the easier it gets. Serbian does the same with two small words that open the two halves of the sentence: što opens the first half, to opens the second, and each is followed by a comparative — the -iji / -ji / -ši form you learnt at A2 (lakši, bolji, duži) or a comparative adverb (lakše, više, bolje, brže).
Što više vežbaš, to lakše govoriš. — The more you practise, the more easily you speak. Read it as: by how much more you practise — by that much more easily you speak. The first half (with što) is the cause that grows or shrinks; the second half (with to) is what follows from it.
The shape: both halves, both comparatives
- Što + comparative + the rest of clause 1, a comma, then to + comparative + the rest of clause 2.
- Both halves are obligatory. Leaving out to sounds unfinished in Serbian, even though English sometimes drops the.
- Both halves need a comparative. Što više ... to bolje — never a plain mnogo or dobro.
- The comparative stands right after što and to whenever it can: Što više vežbaš, to lakše govoriš. With an adjective after biti, the clitic je / su / si comes first and the noun sits between: Što je zadatak teži, to je zanimljiviji.
An adjective comparative agrees with its noun or subject like any adjective: što je tekst kraći, što je ispit bliži, to si sigurniji (masculine), to je bila opuštenija (feminine), to su polaznici bili zadovoljniji (plural).
| What changes | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| an adverb (how, how much, how often) | Što više vežbaš, to lakše govoriš. | The more you practise, the more easily you speak. |
| an adjective (what something is like) | Što je zadatak teži, to je zanimljiviji. | The harder the task, the more interesting it is. |
| less / worse (the same shape, going down) | Što manje ponavljaš, to više zaboravljaš. | The less you revise, the more you forget. |
| in the past | Što smo više čitali, to smo bolje razumeli. | The more we read, the better we understood. |
| in the future | Što ranije počneš, to ćeš pre završiti. | The earlier you start, the sooner you'll finish. |
| koliko ... toliko | Koliko više slušaš, toliko bolje razumeš. | The more you listen, the better you understand. |
Going down: manje, gore, sporije
Nothing changes when one side shrinks. Use the comparatives that point downwards — manje (less, fewer), gore (worse), sporije (more slowly) — in the same slots: Što manje spavam, to sporije učim. Što manje grešaka praviš, to si sigurniji. A negated verb fits too: Što duže ne vežbaš, to je teže ponovo početi — the longer you go without practising, the harder it is to start again.
Past and future
Each half keeps its own ordinary tense. In the past both halves take the perfect, and the clitic (sam, si, je, smo, ste, su) stands right after što and right after to: Što je kurs bio duži, to su polaznici bili zadovoljniji.
About the future, the to half takes the future with ću, ćeš, će. The što half takes either the present (Što ranije počneš, ...) or the second future you learnt at B1 (Što budeš više čitao, ...). Do not put ćeš in the što half.
koliko ... toliko
Koliko ... toliko does the same job and is a close synonym: Koliko više vežbaš, toliko tečnije govoriš. The pairs are fixed: što goes with to, koliko goes with toliko. Do not mix them.
Do not confuse this with sve + comparative from B1. Sve bolje govorim (I speak better and better) is ONE clause describing a steady change over time. Što više govorim, to bolje govorim is TWO clauses where one change drives the other. If you can say the more ..., the more ..., you need što ... to; if you mean more and more, you need sve.
English often drops the verb: the sooner, the better. Serbian can too, in the fixed saying Što pre, to bolje. Outside such sayings, give each half its verb.
Check what you read
6 of the 15 questions this lesson asks in the app. Type the form or pick the answer.
Što je zadatak teži, ___ je zanimljiviji.
Što je tekst(kratak), to ga brže čitam.
Što je ispit(blizak), to su studenti nervozniji.
Što više vežbaš, to(lako) govoriš.
Which sentence means 'the more I speak, the better I speak'?
Što ___ ne vežbaš, to je teže ponovo početi.
Examples from the course
The marked word is where the rule applies. Press play to hear the sentence.
Koliko manje govoriš, toliko sporije napreduješ.
The less you speak, the more slowly you progress.
Što više vežbaš, to lakše govoriš.
The more you practise, the more easily you speak.
Što manje ponavljaš, to više zaboravljaš.
The less you revise, the more you forget.
Koliko više slušaš, toliko bolje razumeš.
The more you listen, the better you understand.
Koliko više vežbaš konverzaciju, toliko tečnije govoriš.
The more you practise conversation, the more fluently you speak.
Što ranije počneš, to ćeš pre završiti.
The earlier you start, the sooner you'll finish.
Što je zadatak teži, to je zanimljiviji.
The harder the task, the more interesting it is.
Što manje budete ponavljali, to ćete više zaboraviti.
The less you revise, the more you will forget.
Što manje spavam, to sporije učim nove lekcije.
The less I sleep, the more slowly I learn new lessons.
Što više truda uložite, to ćete brže napredovati.
The more effort you put in, the faster you will progress.
Sentences in the course that use this rule: 25
Try it yourself
Translate a sentence that uses this rule. The check marks the word that went wrong and names the rule behind it, as in the app.
Sentences
Write it in Serbian
The less you speak, the more slowly you progress.
use koliko ... toliko